


threat level: zero

by Mellilla



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27501133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellilla/pseuds/Mellilla
Summary: anyways it's been a minute hUh?? time to take a break from the zombie au and probably,,,, focus on a school au!! so that's gonna be fun!!also I gave up on proofreading after a certain point because this took way too long





	threat level: zero

After the incident, progress on rebuilding the town decreased dramatically. Everyone did their best to process the events, but it just didn't work as easily as they had hoped. Since escaping containment, there weren't any difficulties that were too extreme, as they left the humans alone and carried on their way together. So, to have someone actually target them as a group left mental scars—especially for Kaleb.

It wasn't so long ago since it happened, and the healed wounds on Cookie reminded them constantly. She was able to bounce back from it, though there were moments that brought her down. Still, it was nice to see the most injured of the group with a bubbly attitude, as if nothing happened.

Kaleb, however, couldn't get over it that easily.

When the night came, he'd try to fall asleep but there was no use. Words resonated in his mind, vivid images of what he saw. It made his heart feel like it would shatter at any given moment. He wanted to fall apart, but didn't dare to do so in front of the others. As far as they were concerned, he was doing just fine and even better, maybe.

But, when it comes time that the others fell asleep, he'd manage to slip out of bed and walk outside. He'd take a stroll down the walkway and sit a few rooms away from the one they occupied, sit down on the floor and hug his knees before letting all those feelings out. Endless streams of tears, shaking like he was some small, fragile leaf in the wind. It made him feel sick to his stomach to think about all those times he was laughing and enjoying himself without realizing the dangers that were waiting, the dangers that already killed.

Why? Why did it have to be this way?

"Kaleb?" The tired voice pulled made him freeze, the sobs coming to a brief halt as he heard footsteps coming closer.  
"I-I'm fine! Go back to bed." He exclaimed.  
"I can't sleep, either. So, looks like you're getting a buddy tonight." Cookie sat down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He became unresponsive, shrugging her touch off in hopes it would make her leave, despite a small part of him hoping she'd stay. To his relief, that's exactly what she did.

"You can't just make me leave. We're in this clusterfuck together," she laughed quietly, then moved onto her knees and wrapped her arms around him. A moment went by in silence, with him still shaking a bit as she laid her head on top of his and tried to embrace him as tightly as possible. The silence he gave did nothing to waver at her resolve and determination to stay by his side. He didn't know why she stayed by him. After figuring out the man who nearly killed her was his father, it seemed to strike him as confusing that she still wanted to be close to him, as if nothing happened.

"I just... I'm... A horrible person, really." He muttered, burying his face in his arms.  
"Kaleb, if you're seriously still upset over what happened, I'm gonna hit you," she threatened, then let go and lifted his head up and had him face her. "I'm fine. Sure, those events were quite traumatic, but at the end of the day, we're all fine and alive. Risking our lives is just what we've been dealing with since we were born in this shitty world."  
"What happened to you isn't the only reason, Cookie. He... He said he killed my brother, okay? Dylan? Were you able to catch that? I-I don't know, and I'm not trying to be insensitive o-or anything... But I can't think about anything but what he–"  
"You... Do know he was lying, right?"  
"What?"

He looked at her, a bit surprised and confused as she pushed his legs down and sat on his lap. Her hands cupped his cheeks, giving a small smile as she repeated herself.

"Dylan isn't dead. I may have been in and out of it, but I know that he hadn't killed anyone before me... I guess I would've been the first, to test his resolve and see if he could kill everyone else," she began, shifting her gaze to the side before looking back again. "But, in case you forgot, I can read other people's emotions no matter how hard they try to hide it. I saw the lie in his eyes. Which means there's a better chance that Dylan is still alive."

His eyes grew wide as she explained her side of the story, then took a sharp breath in and pulled her into a hug. The wolf buried his face into the crook of her neck, letting out a relieved sob as she returned the embrace, fingers combing through his hair.

Neither one of them could tell how long they spent outside, but it had to be a long while as JD leaned outside the door to their room and whistled to catch their attention.

"Can you fuckers come back to bed, already? Wes is way too fucking clingy," he groaned.  
"Yeah, just a minute. Go lay back down, alright?" Cookie replied, tilting her head to look at him. He gave slow, tired nod and disappeared back inside, giving them time to gather themselves together before heading back to bed.

"Maybe we can start search parties. Production of the town is still underway, so two people can stay back and two can go. If push comes to shove, we can go as a group to cover more ground." She explained, leaning back from his hug.  
"Yeah... Yeah, you're right..." He muttered, taking a deep breath, then leaning back and sighing out. "Thank you."  
"Anything for you guys," with a smile, the girl kissed his cheek and stood up, waiting for him before they walked back to the motel room and went inside. They got back to their bed, immediately welcomed in by JD as he shoved Wes away from himself with a tired grunt. Cookie settled back into the middle, with Kaleb holding onto her side once he was comfortable again. His face went back into hiding against her neck, finding a sense of comfort in the gesture.

They slept the rest of the night away without anymore interruptions or disappearances, much to the devil's relief. The morning was slept through as well, everyone too comfortable to move from the bed even if they had to use the bathroom.

But, eventually, they had to get up and start working for the day before Cookie decided to explain the plan for helping Kaleb find some kind of peace.

"Are you sure you wanna go in pairs?" Wes asked, carrying boxes of bed sheets he found within the cleaning room of the motel's center building.  
"I think it'd work out. I think you and JD do the best work on the place, anyways, so Kaleb and I can go search." She went on, carrying a couple other boxes with him.  
"Sounds like a plan, though it just makes me a little worried. I'm not as quick to forgive and forget like you, so I find it just a little scary to send you off like this." He responded, sighing out at the memory of what happened.  
"I know, but we're gonna be fine! The bitch is dead so we don't have to worry about getting hunted down by the likes of him. If anyone's our newest threat, it's just a bunch of humans and I don't think they'll be much of a problem."  
"Just because Kaleb's with you doesn't mean they can't overpower you."  
"Wes, I'm talking about me. I'm a hazard to human society."  
"Oh."

She laughed as they reached one of the rooms that was pretty much fixed up. They sat the boxes down and pulled out four pillows, then took out the sheets and started preparing the beds. There was little banter as they finished the room and looked around.

"We're making progress." She huffed, pushing her hair back as he grabbed the empty boxes and made his way out.  
"Which is good. Now, if we find another of us, they'll have a room." He explained, setting them outside.  
"Yeah it'd be weird if they came into our room and saw three huge guys on a small gal," the innuendo hidden in the statement made him choke on nothing, then burst into laughter before ruffling her hair.  
"Oh, definitely. I'd make sure they know it's _exactly _what it looks like." His response made her laugh aloud, then playfully hit his arm.  
"Don't turn it into a hentai fantasy. Get busy on work! I'm gonna go talk to JD."__

__With that, she left him to continue working, taking off to the hardware store where the devil claimed he would be. Somehow, within the years they all knew each other, no one knew how handy he was at fixing things up. From damaged room, to even setting up their electricity source to keep from running out. He felt rather proud of his work and what he was capable of, which showed in the way he'd smile when repairing things while no one was watching._ _

__"Y'know, you should smile more. Makes you look cute!" Cookie sang, walking from behind a shelf and looking at the light fixtures he was looking at.  
"Shut the fuck up, creep." He made a grimace on purpose as a reaction to her comment, though it didn't last long.  
"Alright, so here's the deal, hot stuff." She started, tossing an arm around his shoulders, standing on the tips of her toes to make herself appear taller. "We have a map and sense of direction, yeah? If you couldn't tell, Kaleb's been feeling down because he thought the bitch who tried killing me killed Dylan. Still with me? What I was thinking is that you and Wes can take some time to work around the city while Kaleb and I try to adventure out little ways away to search for him because let's face it, Thomas is a bitch of a liar when he said he killed others before me."_ _

__The seriousness in her tone could've made him laugh, but he was more focused on what she was proposing._ _

__"Are you serious?" He asked, giving her a look before going back over which light fixtures he wanted to use.  
"Completely. I know you're gonna have a hard time with that, but I promise you I'm alright now. It would also mean the world to Kaleb, yknow." She replied, drumming her hands against his back before stepping in front of him. He stared her down, still unconvinced as she put on her best smile. In the rare times they have their disagreements, he sighed as he'd have to falter in her favor._ _

__"Here are my rules, so make sure you can fuckin' hear. I don't want you guys gone longer than a day. If you're still gone by the morning, I will come find you and beat your asses. The only reason I'm letting this slide is that I'm sick of listening to Kaleb whine." He deadpanned, though his true feelings differed from what he said.  
"Great! Then we'll head out after lunch and see you guys back in the morning," after hearing him agree in a way, she started walking off but not before smacking her hand across his ass and breaking off into a small run while laughing. Of course, he made empty threats of kicking her ass back, yet didn't feel like following through._ _

__"After lunch, we make off to the next town over. We'll keep checking out the neighboring cities, though if you can remember what he smells like, that'd probably help." Cookie explained, pulling out the map JD used to carry, then slammed it down onto the bed. Kaleb stood behind her, draping his arms over her shoulders and laying his head on top of hers.  
"I think I could... If I try hard enough. But, what if I can't? Then what're we gonna do?" He asked, instinctively tightening his hold.  
"Then we search. This might be a hell of a task, but I'm sure if we work hard enough, we can find him... Bring him home." Tilting her head back, the moon deity reached up and grabbed his face into her hands and smiled warmly. "We _will _bring him home."___ _

____With a squished face, he managed a smile and hugged onto her, laying his head comfortably in her hands then glanced at the places they planned to start heading to. He'd have to lean in closer to take a better look at the town names, but as long as she knew the way they were going, he'd follow her anywhere._ _ _ _

____"Alright... I have a vague idea of where we're gonna visit first, but it'll be alright." She explained, moving from his embrace and holding the map into her hands, jumping onto the bed. Kaleb followed behind, sitting down next to her, head laying against her thigh to look at the map.  
"It's... Not weird that there's just a huge blank area, right? You see it too?" He asked, reaching up and pointing to the rather large section on the map that had nothing around it. No city name, not even a road.  
"Could be a huge field. But, we'll check it out." Her hand moved down and rested on top of his head, threading his hair between her fingers while observing more of the land around them. "Let's knock that one out first, then go to the city closest. If we don't find him, maybe we'll find something else useful."_ _ _ _

____Up until lunch, they discussed their plans together of where to search, and gave guesses on how long it might take. Once the two others started trudging back to the room, she got up and started cooking, having to make more than her usual to accommodate for dinner for her and Kaleb. JD could probably handle the cooking for him and Wes._ _ _ _

____Hopefully._ _ _ _

____"I hate how easy you make chopsticks look," Wes grumbled, stabbing a fork into the bowl of noodles he held.  
"Maybe you're just bad at everything," JD commented, despite also eating with a fork.  
"When are you gonna show us how you eat rice with chopsticks, hm?" His hand reached over to poke at the two sticks the woman held, to which she jabbed back and made him retreat.  
"Practice, dummy. And whenever I decide to make rice for lunch." She scoffed, slurping up one of the noodles from her bowl.  
"Whatever. Just finish your food and hurry up so you guys can get outta here." JD sassed, turning to face away from the group as they all gave him a look._ _ _ _

____And, that they did. The two who planned to leave finished eating their lunch before packing up some of the things they'd need for their journey._ _ _ _

____"We're gonna visit a town over, but there's this vast field Kaleb wants to check out so if you want a time to expect us back, either tomorrow morning or into the afternoon given if the town really is that far from this city," Cookie explained to the two boys staying back, holding the map up and pointing to where they were headed. "But if we haven't returned by tomorrow night, maybe come find our bodies."  
"Don't think like that, idiot!" JD scolded as she laughed.  
"You're really trying to make us worry over you, huh?" Wes scoffed, looking down at her. He could still see the faint scars in her face from glass shards, which did nothing to ease his mind.  
"I'm sorry, it was just a joke! We'll do our best to make it a fast trip. Alright, Kaleb! You ready?" She asked, whipping around and finding the werewolf standing there with the two bags they were bringing. He nodded with a large smile, then waved to the two others._ _ _ _

____"We'll see you soon!" He exclaimed as she walked over to stand at his side. Wes and JD gave their own half-hearted waves as the two set off. While it was unintentional, both men had their own bad feelings due to recent events. But, it's not like anyone would back down now._ _ _ _

____Once they were outside the city, Kaleb shifted into his wolf form so they could get to the mysterious area faster. Cookie sat on his back, gripping the map with one hand and using the other to hold on as he picked up the pace. She kept glancing between the road and the paper to make sure they wouldn't steer off track. But, the closer they got to their destination, the more the road started to disappear, turning into more of a field than anything. And, after getting a good look around, the two could conclude that they were in the blank area on the map._ _ _ _

____"Didn't take that long to get here... Good work!" She exclaimed, watching his tail wag before he turned back into a human to try and hide the excitement.  
"You'd think uh... These maps would be filled out." Clearing his throat, the male looked around and then to the paper again to see if maybe he missed something.  
"Yeah, at least say if it's a desert or land or something!" She sighed, walking through the tall grass with him while trying to make sense of the area._ _ _ _

____It didn't take long, though. The answers to their questions appeared in the distance, making them both stop in their tracks._ _ _ _

____"Cookie..."  
"Yeah?"  
"Didn't... We leave this place?"  
"... Yeah."_ _ _ _

____Standing tall, a small section of buildings were in the middle of the land, which looked like an exact replica of–_ _ _ _

____"Containment..." The two shuddered, but then had to take another look at the map. There wasn't a possible explanation to it, to why they stood in front of the building that had them trapped inside for years._ _ _ _

____"Let's just investigate and... Stay close together, okay?" She suggested, shoving the map into her duffle bag then grabbing onto the sleeve of his jacket. He nodded, and started walking into the area of the center, finding a set of double doors that were busted off their hinges. It had been so long since they were locked up, but the memory of the place would never leave. Though, something felt off as they walked down the corridor and looked around._ _ _ _

____There weren't as many barricaded doors, seemingly a lot less than they could remember. Of course, Cookie still kept count of how many doors they were needing to get through, so to find so few threw her off. Not only that, but the amount of corpses compared to what memory serves, she found it just a little weird so see so few, and less of a mess within the building._ _ _ _

____"This doesn't seem right." She exclaimed, almost startling the poor boy next to her.  
"Yeah? What about it?" He asked, a hand over his heart to attempt to settle how fast it was racing.  
"It looks almost exactly the same as when we left, but haven't you noticed it? There's a lack in security, less bodies... When we escaped, I saw blood on damn near every wall we came across."  
"Maybe we should find... What is it... A filing room? See if there's anything helpful?" He suggested, holding an arm around her to ease his nerves. She muttered an agreement, then headed further into the building with him as they looked in each room to find what they were looking for._ _ _ _

____After awhile of searching, they found a door that opened into a room that had cabinets tipped over, manilla envelopes and stacks of paper scattered all over the place._ _ _ _

____"Well... Here it is." He breathed out and stepped in first, cautiously looking around for anything that may come out to attack. Once they were in the clear, Cookie followed in behind and started grabbing at papers, lifting them up and looking over each one. There wasn't anything that held too much value, so she threw them back to the floors and kicked over new pages in an attempt to see what they had printed on them._ _ _ _

____"You know, wouldn't it be so cool if the apocalypse was more like those games?" She asked, walking to a desk and going through the papers, still finding nothing of good use. "Like... Special infected. Boss zombies... I mean, we do have boss battles but they're just not all that interesting. I used to play video games a lot, so to find only one type of infected feels so boring sometimes!"_ _ _ _

____Laying over the desk, she let out a groan before pausing for a moment. Silence filled the air, which seemed to quickly concern her as she stood up again and turned to see Kaleb sitting on the other side of the room._ _ _ _

____"Hey, you alright?" She asked, shuffling over to where he sat and looked over his shoulder only to let out a quiet gasp. "Is that–?"  
"Yeah... It's him." He inahled, voice low as he stared down._ _ _ _

____In his hands, a file was opened and had a mugshot of a male with dog-like features, who looked rather tired and anxious. The papers within were nothing but simple data on him, his name, height and weight and more. Family names, all of it was there._ _ _ _

____"This doesn't make any sense." She spoke up after a dramatically long silence.  
"None of it fucking does! We were in containment, so if he was there too, what if we fucking left him to die? I can't wrap my head around any of this and it's pissing me off!" The sudden raise in his own voice made her flinch, jumping back as he got onto his feet again. He didn't realize his mistake until he looked at her, the anger he was feeling faltering into worry as she took another few steps back._ _ _ _

____"I... I'm sorry..." He apologized, gripping the folders in his hands.  
"I-It's fine! It's fine, I'm alright. Don't worry," she laughed it off, shaking her head before going back over to him. "But... You're right. It doesn't make sense. Though, I don't think he was there with us." She explained, placing a hand over his._ _ _ _

____The moon deity looked around more, finding another map hidden under piles of papers. However, this one had different information printed over it but it was too dark in the room to make out. So, they hurried out of the building again, which gave them light and a release on the tension growing from being inside. As soon as the two stepped foot outside, she sat down and pulled their map out, laying it across the ground before placing the newer one next to it._ _ _ _

____"What're the marks for?" Kaleb asked, looking at the new paper, still holding onto his brother's folder.  
"I have an idea but we should get to that town and hurry back so I can see if JD feels the same." She told him, then folded the new map up and shoved it into her bag, using the original to pinpoint the direction they needed to go. "Let's just finish the exploration, yeah? I don't wanna think too much for something that might not even be right."_ _ _ _

____Standing up again, Cookie looked around the field surrounding the center, then squinted before nodding to herself. She took off in a fast walk, gesturing the werewolf to follow along, which he did without hesitation._ _ _ _

____"Hey... Cooks?"  
"What's up?"  
"I really am sorry."  
"Hm?"_ _ _ _

____She glanced up at him as they walked, seeing his usually happy expression turned into one more of regret. He didn't usually fret over the small things, but in this case, he couldn't help it. "I scared you because I got mad. You backed away from me, because you saw him, right?"_ _ _ _

____"I was a little scared, yeah... But it's really nothing." Tucking the map away, she held a hand up for him to hold. "It's fine. If I can brush it off, so should you."  
"I feel like I scare myself sometimes... Kinda hard not to when your dad is–"  
"You're nothing like your dad, if that's what you're getting at."  
"Huh?"_ _ _ _

____"Look at me, Kaleb. You think because you're related and because he was the one that nearly killed me, it might make you think you're one of the same, right? Well, you're wrong. Not only that, you're kind of a dummy for even thinking that way." She explained, holding his hand tightly.  
"What makes you so sure?"  
"I know you wouldn't just mercilessly kill others for the sake of saving your own ass. You're a lot sweeter than that, compassionate even. And my proof is how clingy you are. Just like Wes. And just like JD. Not to mention within the first week I was put in containment, you moved your bed to the wall closest to my room so I wouldn't be alone at night. I don't think those are any traits your dad would have."_ _ _ _

____There was a long pause as they walked, eventually reaching the road again. He didn't have much to say to go against her words, because no matter what, they were true. So, maybe he'd just have to listen to her._ _ _ _

____He put the files away in her backpack, then shifted back into a wolf again so they could reach the town before nightfall. If anything, it'd be nice to find somewhere to sleep out for the night. He already felt tired from that emotional trip, only hanging on for her, and for the idea that his brother was still out there and waiting for him to come save him._ _ _ _

____It wasn't long after night when they reached the town. Too long of a distance between the places, and they could only conclude the containment center was the midpoint. Luckily for them, it was more of a hometown than something like the city. Neighborhoods were all over the place, which weren't too difficult to clear as the infected that roamed were small in numbers. A few houses were relatively in tact, some needing a barricade as they had broken windows and destroyed doors._ _ _ _

____"Hey, I found a sweet gift for JD," Kaleb laughed, now in a better mood as he dug around in what was presumably a teenage boy's room.  
"Oh yeah? Let's see!" She replied, coming out of the kitchen with newer looking bowls of food for the two of them. The werewolf sat in front of the bed, a large grin on his face as he pulled a box out and dumped out the contents within. It made her burst into laughter, gripping their food tighter so she wouldn't drop it._ _ _ _

____"If you're serious, I'll throw them at him when we get home," she exclaimed after managing to stop to take a breather.  
"Then I'm very serious." He replied, gathering his findings back into the box and taking his food from her._ _ _ _

____The two sat down on the floor and against the bed, leaning on each other as they started to eat. After quite a long trip, they were ready to call it a night and start searching in the morning._ _ _ _

____Going into another one of the bedrooms, they found a bed large enough to fit the both of them. Kaleb already made his way under the covers, wearing nothing but his boxers while Cookie took a look around the room to find anything worth taking. But, after a good while, she eventually gave up and glanced back to find the other fast asleep, curled up like he usually would. The sight of him looking more at peace than he had been for awhile, it was nice to see._ _ _ _

____But, as much as she wanted to join him, she couldn't just yet._ _ _ _

____Cookie took the maps they had, then the files he took from the containment center before going into the kitchen and fixing her hair up to keep it out of her face. There were a few flashlights she found in there, using them to shine a light over the things they gathered, sitting on the floor so she could keep a better look at them._ _ _ _

____The map was a general one of the state they were in. JD found it at a truck stop, making a good use for it which explained that they had traveled far enough from their own containment to consider being in a completely different state. But, she didn't quite understand why they ran into another center. What was it doing there? It didn't help to find only one person's file in the place, and nothing about any of the four of them—giving her a conclusion that they weren't separated by overpopulation. Besides, there weren't that many of them._ _ _ _

____Right?_ _ _ _

____"Threat level zero?" She muttered, shining a light over another page of Dylan's folder. It went into further detail about the more complicated parts of his containment. From how dangerous he was, to his location when they found him. It listed any known facts they discovered while taking him in and holding him in containment, updated until the outbreak. Or, that's what she assumed. Reading further along only made her groan in annoyance, wanting to solve this stupid case. It didn't help that she was yawning and having to shake herself awake every now and then._ _ _ _

____So, with a sense of defeat, the moon deity swiped up everything she had and headed back to the room. Kaleb was left unbothered by her absence, which she was thankful for as she pulled her hair down and took off her jacket and shorts before climbing in next to him, ready to be engulfed by the warm embrace he usually had on her._ _ _ _

____And by morning, they were up and searching the town. Calling out for anyone who may have survived and had been posted up there, only to find infected after infected, staggering toward the duo with a desire to tear them apart._ _ _ _

____"It's okay, Kaleb! That was just one town." Cookie explained, patting the top of his head as they made it back to their own city after hours of walking around. With him unable to talk, giving her a ride and all, he only huffed out in annoyance before hurrying up to the more familiar part of their new home before shifting back just in time to see the other half of their group sitting outside one of the stores._ _ _ _

____"No luck?" Wes asked, getting onto his feet and walking over to the two.  
"No luck." Kaleb grumbled, keeping his head low.  
"But we found something you two are really gonna need to see," she stated, gesturing for the two to follow them back to the motel._ _ _ _

____"What the fuck."_ _ _ _

____"Alright, now listen because I could barely sleep last night while thinking this over," the woman started, "I'm gonna take a grand assumption and say that any red markings are a safe bet on containment centers. There's probably more than one, and my guess on that is because they all have different levels of security. If we weren't so far from where we came from, I would suggest we go back and see if we can find files on ourselves. But, since that's not the case, just look for yourself."_ _ _ _

____She took a deep breath, holding the folder up and to JD, who still looked rather confused._ _ _ _

____"It has Dylan's basic information on the first page, but going to the second explains his location when he was caught and what I would guess to be his danger level. So, if I went by this logic, then the four of us aren't the only ones who were contained, but that we're also on the same level of danger."  
"You really thought it out, huh?" Wes asked, trying not to smile but failing with a small snort.  
"Look, alright, I was raised to overanalyze shit a lot. Be grateful, you lanky fuck." She deadpanned, lightly hitting his forearm while JD continued reading through the folder.  
"So what are the other marks for?" Kaleb asked, still wanting an answer for what he wanted to know the day before.  
"Best guess? There's a circle where we found the containment center. I'll assume that Dylan probably wasn't alone in there, so if JD will read where they found him and point it out on the map, then you will see," as she continued talking, she took the devil's hand and brought it to where she remembered reading the location. Under his finger, a red 'X' crossed over the town's name._ _ _ _

____"Okay, that might at least give us a better starting point than just taking useless trips around the place." Wes muttered, sitting down on the bed above the maps.  
"So we'll sit back for the day and explore that town tomorrow and see if anything comes up." She added, looking back to JD as he finished reading the majority of the papers.  
"This actually could be of good use. If we can find out about other containments, that might mean we'll find out more about others like us." He explained, sitting back against the dresser and looking at the other three._ _ _ _

____"So, here's the plan. We can put a pause on the town for a bit. Not like it's going anywhere, given how all the infected were taken out... So, first, we'll explore that town, and all neighboring ones just to see if the little shit went back to where he's familiar." The devil rambled, setting the files down next to him.  
"You're really keen on finding others like us, huh?" Wes teased, grinning as he flopped back onto the bed.  
"It'd sure be nice for many reasons." He scoffed, shaking his head.  
"While you guys keep talking, I'm taking a shower. The field where the center was had tall grass and I still feel like bugs are crawling all over me," Cookie groaned, then ran for the bathroom and closing the door._ _ _ _

____But, a moment after it closed, she swung it open again, a towel covering her up as she hurried to the bags she and Kaleb had. The moon deity dug out the findings from the house they stayed at, then threw them at JD with a laugh before retreating back into the bathroom. As he recovered from her assault, he looked over what she had then let out an annoyed groan._ _ _ _

____"Fuck you and your porn magazines!"_ _ _ _

____The rest of the day went by rather uneventful for the group, taking time to relax and go over both sides of progress. Wes and JD paused on the motel rooms after finishing a few of them up, then started to work on some of the other buildings. It was mostly just clean up work, trying to make the city seem less abandoned and more welcoming to others. After discovering the city's missing population, there were hardly any infected left, and no other signs that someone else was lurking about, ready to attack once one of them got separated from the group._ _ _ _

____By the next morning, the four started packing up and getting ready for the long trip they'd be making. There wouldn't be any returning until they finished thoroughly searching around the area where Dylan's file claimed he was first located. Risks were being taken by this, but they all did it together._ _ _ _

____For Kaleb's sake._ _ _ _

____"Guess this is farewell for now," Wes sighed as they were outside the city again, everyone looking back as if they were permanently leaving.  
"Don't be so fucking dramatic. You guys act like we're in search of a new home." JD scoffed, already walking ahead of the group.  
"Odds are, it's gonna take more than a week, y'know." Cookie chimed in, following behind as the other two started to join them. "We should make temporary base in the town Dylan was found in because it's not just gonna take a day to explore each place. We don't even know the size of em."  
"She's right. We could be up against a huge city like the one we found," Kaleb muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I just wish I could find him already, dammit! It's real annoyin' to have to wait shit out."  
"It's alright, Kaleb. It's frustrating as hell, but we can do this." The wendigo smiled, patting his close friend on the back._ _ _ _

____JD held up the map they always had on them as Cookie carried the one found at the containment center. They had to keep comparing the two, seeing as hers held a little more detail, small notes written down to explain the building's whereabouts and what level it was._ _ _ _

____The town itself would be far, further than the one Cookie and Kaleb recently returned from. But, nobody had many complaints as they spent so long traveling already. What's a day or two more?_ _ _ _

____"Think they pissed themselves yet?" Cookie asked, leaning against the building to the containment center. It was on the path they were taking, so JD insisted on checking it out for himself to try and find if there were any other things they might've missed.  
"Nah, not yet. Though I can smell how nervous they are." Kaleb laughed, mimicking her on the other side of the entrance.  
"Who wouldn't be? There might be a trap!" She shouted the last part, just for a girlish scream to echo out before the two bursted into laughter._ _ _ _

____"Okay, not cool, you fucking gremlin." Wes wheezed, walking out of the dark building to glare down the girl.  
"But your scream was so cute!" She grinned, pushing off the wall and placing her hands on her hips. "Where's the other bitch?"  
"Call me a bitch again and I'll fucking feed you to the infected." JD scoffed, making his presence known. He had a few other folders he gathered, tucking them into his bag then gestured for them to head out. While they began their walk, he started to briefly explain what other files he had found inside._ _ _ _

____Threat level zero patients were deemed unsafe, but not vicious. They didn't attack when caught, didn't prove to be a threat to others. If anything, they were merely caught to be kept away from the public eye and avoid others from pondering if there were more like them. No one dared to escape, and were all generally ranked in a weak category. Those types of patients weren't as common as one through four, leaving them to be almost as rare as a threat level five._ _ _ _

____For the rest of the day, the group pondered what level they were. Clearly, they had to be of the same type to be put together under maximum security containment, but without any idea of how secured a place could be, they could all be a level two._ _ _ _

____"Man, I wish we could've been able to find our files." Wes grumbled, hands shoved in his pockets as they walked down an empty street.  
"That would be wicked cool! I mean, we probably wouldn't be the highest threat... But who knows!" Kaleb added, trying to look on the bright side.  
"I don't know, you guys. We might just be up there." Cookie mumbled, thinking about how she acted when she was first caught. It was one of the rather violent memories she had, but after shaking her head, those thoughts dispersed.  
"It would've been nice. But, maybe we can do that in the future when we've finished the city and managed to relocate some of these guys there." The wendigo smiled, enjoying the idea of having the city filled with others who had a resemblance to them._ _ _ _

____"Let's just focus on finding Dylan, first."_ _ _ _

____Their trip to the town took longer than a day, but they made it just as night fell. The group made their temporary base inside a convenient store, finding it to hold the least infected they could take out while in their exhausted states._ _ _ _

____As Kaleb removed the now truly deceased corpses from within the building, all three boys came to an abrupt stop in their work at Cookie's undeniably loud squealing._ _ _ _

____"Finally! I can't believe I finally found one!" She shouted as the trio hurried to where she stood in the store.  
"I'm gonna lock your fucking ass out if you scare us shitless again, Cookie." JD snapped once he realized what caused her to make such a high pitched sound.  
"A razor? Are you serious?" Wes whined, shaking his head.  
"You guys don't understand, why would you? I've needed this for years!" She scoffed, just to be thrown over Kaleb's shoulder in one swift move.  
"Alright, princess. It's time for bed, and we don't need you wandering off." He chuckled, walking to the backroom where they put all their belongings and set up for the night.  
"I'm taking all those razors before we leave. Try and stop me, you won't."  
"Just lay your dumbass down already!"_ _ _ _

____Finally wrangling her down to the futon, the fatigue coursed through and allowed the group to sleep with ease, laying close together as they always did. For a good while, Kaleb didn't wake up, nor did he stay awake to slip off either. It seemed that he was feeling a new shred of hope, and it was all thanks to the moon deity._ _ _ _

____By morning, they were up and searching the town, going building to building in hopes they'd find the missing boy. Kaleb had been noticably faster than the others, head darting in every direction at the slightest sound._ _ _ _

____While Wes accompanied him, Cookie and JD took another part of the town to try and cover more ground._ _ _ _

____"So, you found more files?" She asked, hands shoved in her pocket to mess with the knives resting within.  
"Just three others. I doubt that there are many in such a low category. You can either fight or die." JD responded, taking a deep breath and looking around.  
"That's true, I suppose. I hope they're still alive, at least. Maybe one day we can find them and bring them to a new home. Sure would be safer than being scattered, possibly alone, and hunted down." While rambling, she seemed to miss the warm gaze he sent her, too distracted by the idea of having others who were just like them. But, despite finding it to be nice, the happy thought soon turned bitter as she stared ahead._ _ _ _

____"The only problem is... What if they're like him?" She asked, fighting back the urge to reach up and hold her neck. Ghostly pains shot through as she took a heavy breath and closed her eyes, deciding to grab onto JD's hand.  
"I doubt it, there's no need to piss yourself over it," he replied in a somewhat joking tone once he realized what she was going through. "If we took him down, then we can do it again. Don't be so negative, it's not like you."_ _ _ _

____Letting out a quiet sigh, she shrugged and looked back at the road again. "I know, but it's just one of those thoughts that sit in the back of your mind, waiting for a chance to be like 'hey, I'm still here', y'know?"  
"I think I know better than anyone." He muttered, then squeezed her hand without a second thought before continuing their walk. After he gave his response, the conversation quickly fell silent with the two focusing on the task at hand rather than the past._ _ _ _

____After hours of searching without any luck, the two retreated back and started calling out for the other half to their group. It took some time, but they eventually stood in front of a house where they found Wes, sitting on the porch with his head in his hands._ _ _ _

____"Where the fuck did wolfie run off to now?" JD asked, walking up the sidewalk with the girl in tow.  
"Inside. He, uh, found something." Wes replied, patting the spots next to him. "He said he wanted some time alone."  
"Yeah fucking right, like that'll happen." Cookie scoffed, jumping on the porch and walking through the opened front door, ignoring the quiet protests from the wendigo._ _ _ _

____She walked through the house, slowing down as she took a good look around. The place was trashed, which made her uncertain of if it was because of Kaleb or from the apocalypse. Either way, she managed to find the giant male in the living room, sitting on the floor and holding something in his hand. His body was shaking, giving away the fact that he was probably crying along with the occasional sniffling._ _ _ _

____"Please just leave me alone," he spoke quietly as she stepped closer.  
"Like I said, Kaleb. We're in this clusterfuck together." With the reminder in the air, she dropped down and wrapped her arms around him in as tight of a hug as she could manage. He took in a shaky breath, deciding to let her be as she pulled him back to lean on her and give her a better view of what he had in his hand. And once she saw it, things started to make just a little more sense in their crazy world._ _ _ _

____She only saw one picture of him. The mugshot from his files, but it was clear that the picture Kaleb held was taken before the breakout. Before they were caught, even before that._ _ _ _

____Rather than the grown look he had, the picture showed Dylan, much younger than he was. He wore a cowboy costume, wielding two fake guns with a wide smile on his face as two guinea pigs sat on either shoulder._ _ _ _

____"He really loved that cowboy costume," Kaleb laughed, wiping his eyes as he laid his head against her.  
"Now I can see why you adore him so much. He looks so cute," Cookie smiled, resting her head on top of his as they stared at the picture. "I've never had a pet before."  
"Tonto and Ranger. Guessin' they loved him just as much."_ _ _ _

____Silence filled the air as they sat there, looking at the picture taken. There was some peace as they stayed in place with her playing with his hair as she still had those hopes for finding the boy._ _ _ _

____"I don't know why, but I have a great feeling he's still going strong. If he's your brother, then that just has to be true because you're the toughest wolf I know." She smiled warmly, then pressed her lips to the top of his head. "So pick yourself back up, because we're far from done."_ _ _ _

____He sat there for a moment, unable to help the forming grin and small laugh as he sat up, then stood to his feet and helped the moon deity up._ _ _ _

____"You're right. Damn, I needa stop getting so worked up over things. Kinda embarrassing to have the cutest of the group make ya smile, huh?" He joked, still clutching the frame in hand as he followed her out.  
"Hey, everyone's allowed to break. I'm just here to pick up the pieces and love em back together again." She smiled back as they left the house with Wes and JD giving an applause with their own dumb grins.  
"Alright, we'll start up again tomorrow. It's getting late, and I'm fucking starved." The devil exclaimed, taking the lead back to their temporary base._ _ _ _

____But, even with all her optimism, those hours spent searching ended up turning into days with no luck. From days to weeks, and finally after finishing the last town, they all wanted nothing more than to return to their own home, relax in the comfort of the motel room and even shower. Despite having no chance of finding the boy, there was still that small thread of hope Kaleb held onto with a tight grip._ _ _ _

____"Did we have to walk through the woods? I thought we were done with that!" Cookie whined out, jumping over a large branch.  
"You're a fucking idiot if you think I wanna put up with anymore infected after today's shitstorm." JD snapped back, then looked at her and realized she was holding one of his guns. "Give that to me, you little shit."  
"I could collapse any second, now." She scoffed as he snatched the firearm away from her._ _ _ _

____"Hey!"_ _ _ _

____A voice unlike any of theirs called out, causing the group to stop in their tracks._ _ _ _

____"You four!"  
"What that hell?"_ _ _ _

____A boy ran up to the group, looking to be in his teen years as he finally caught up and took a moment to breathe._ _ _ _

____"Are you guys tired? Do you need a place to stay?" He asked, still winded but wanted to keep their attention.  
"What? No, we're fine. Go away," JD responded, giving the kid a look as he gestured for the group to follow him again.  
"Wa-Wait! Hold on, you guys will be safe there!" He exclaimed, arms waving frantically.  
"Listen, kid. I don't know exactly what made you have the balls to even approach us, but we're not fuckin' interested."  
"I dunno, seems like it couldn't hurt." Wes shrugged and gave a small laugh. "Besides, if shrimpy here is lying, not like we haven't killed before. So, are you telling the truth, kid?"_ _ _ _

____After his vague threat, a silence fell over the group as the four stared the boy down. It wasn't hard to tell how nervous he was, being a human in the presence of three large guys who looked ready to kill at any given moment. But, he nodded and took a deep breath._ _ _ _

____"We have this small town. It's just a neighborhood, really. Hidden from hunters, and everyone's nice and friendly!" He went on to try and persuade them.  
"I'm in." Kaleb deadpanned, laughing as the devil glared him down. "Look, it sounds sketchy but I'm tired. And if someone's offering a bed to sleep in until we can return to ours, guess I'm gonna take it."  
"Yeah, hate to agree but it has been tiring to sleep in the backroom of a gas station with infected trying to break in." Wes added, unable to help the smug grin as the teen practically lit up at their agreeing.  
"Alright! Just follow me, I'll show you guys our home." The boy exclaimed, the turned and started hurrying off deeper into the woods. As he walked off, Kaleb and Wes took the led in following behind. JD, on the other hand, grabbed Cookie's wrist and stayed back for a moment._ _ _ _

____"JD, I know how unnatural this is. But let's just humor the kid. If he's true with his words, we'll be home tomorrow and I can make you some food that's better than the shit we've found. But if it's a trap, at least it'll be fun to take out some stronger opponents than the zombies." She laughed a bit, yanking her arm as to bring him in closer so she could kiss his forehead before dragging him along after the others.  
"And if it's a trap, don't cry to me when you need to be saved." He scoffed, still holding onto her but with a looser grip so he wouldn't hurt her._ _ _ _

____The four followed along with ease after the boy, who kept turning to look back and make sure they were there. Anytime he counted the group, he'd smile and turn back around to continue leading until they reached a rather tall wall that stretched out far. Walking alongside it, he was pleased to find an entrance, then pushed it open and disappeared inside. As soon as he was no longer in their sight, the group came to a halt and looked at each other._ _ _ _

____"We're either getting ambushed, or we're gonna be oddly surprised." Wes spoke up, knowing that was exactly what the others were thinking.  
"Either way, at least we'll have each other! Right?" Cookie smiled brightly, trying to stay positive.  
"Right! So, I guess we're just gonna have to put what little trust we have in this kid." He replied, then walked over to the door and went inside._ _ _ _

____One by one, they all went in and were met with the calm daily lives of humans that lived within the town's barriers. Everyone looked happy, and even those who saw the creatures that the boy brought in, they still remained cheerful. It was rather nice to not be greeted with disgust and fear, but with how happy they were, it felt almost unnatural. Still, it was better than having guns pointing at them, ready to fire off if given a simple wave of the hand._ _ _ _

____"Alright maybe these guys haven't gotten the memo, or they're completely fucking delusional." JD deadpanned as a few people even waved their way with smiles.  
"Don't be mean!" Cookie replied in a partially hushed tone, then smiled to anyone who acknowledged them.  
"Everyone here is friendly. And since we're so far out in the woods, I doubt anyone would come out this far to hunt you guys down." The boy explained, fingers messing with his shirt before he lightened up. "I'll show you guys around!"_ _ _ _

____He led them around the place, which was larger than they had thought. There was even a library and a pond some of the kids went to play in while the adults handled work to keep the place going. All in all, it did seem like it'd make for a good home. But, they were only planning to stay for the day and rest up in the comfort of somewhere not so infested with the undead. Then, it was back to their own home so they could get back to work while Cookie thought of a new plan to find Dylan._ _ _ _

____Even if the others were tired, she didn't want to rest too easy. She wanted to find the boy and make Kaleb truly happy again._ _ _ _

____"You gotta meet the person that helped make this all happen! He's the best," the boy exclaimed, then started hurrying off. Each of the four shared a cautious glance, then continued to follow after him, trying to think up of what the worst case scenario could turn out to be when they met this man._ _ _ _

____As they roamed into another part of the city, there was a man surrounded by a few others, all chatting along and laughing over whatever the conversation's topic was._ _ _ _

____"Keiran! I found the guests!"_ _ _ _

____Chatter amongst the group came to a pause as they turned to look at the newcomers. The man looked at the four arrivals, then gave a kind, closed-eye smile before excusing himself to greet the group. Of course, they were on the defense and grew tense once he got closer. But, it did nothing to sway the supposed leader of this town as he extended a hand out, unclear of who it was held out to._ _ _ _

____"Ah, not to worry; I don't bite." He joked, pulling his hand away when he realized no one would take the bait.  
"Let's just get shit straight, is there any fucking reason you had this shrimp fuck chase us down and drag us back here?" JD immediately snapped, getting punched on either arm by Kaleb and Wes.  
"We're sorry for his behavior. It's just..." The werewolf started, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.  
"We're pretty cautious of humans. A lot of 'em want us dead and some actually tried hunting us." Wes continued for him, his gaze going to the side as they started to feel more awkward standing there._ _ _ _

____"Well, not to fret," Keiran started, "we're all friendly around here. Anyone's accepted, because we all understand how horrible this world's become."  
"Ah, that sounds pretty nice. B-But we probably should get going soon," the wendigo exclaimed, laughing nervously.  
"Nonsense! Night time will be coming soon. At least stay for the night and rest somewhere comfortably. I promise it's worth it."_ _ _ _

____There was a long silence as the four debated their options. It was apparent that they wanted to rest somewhere comfortable, but trusting a stranger completely for the night? They couldn't just lay their guard down like that._ _ _ _

____Eventually, they agreed to stay._ _ _ _

____"Maybe we can ask around and see how they managed to rebuild themselves a new home," Kaleb muttered quietly with a partially excited grin.  
"That could be useful. But let's not stray too far, got it?" JD answered, hands shoved in his pockets while his guns rested on his belt.  
"If you want, we can hold hands and form a buddy system!" Cookie joked, just to have an arm fall around her shoulder and tug her into the side of none other than their beloved wendigo.  
"Sounds perfect, you can be my buddy. Perfect snack size. Well, except those t–"_ _ _ _

____"Don't give me a reason to fucking shoot you." JD groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose before he stopped in the street to look around. "Does anyone know where we should even start with this town? The fuckin' kid ran off as soon as what's his face started yapping."  
"I think there was a library back that way," Cookie exclaimed, pointing back down from where they had just walked. He looked at her, then to where she pointed, then sighed and shook his head._ _ _ _

____"Fucking– fine. Alright, let's go read a book or some shit."_ _ _ _

____They turned around and started walking again, Wes standing on one side of the girl while Kaleb remained at the other. JD stuck behind the trio, trying to think about if there was any motive behind them being brought to this town. As far as he could tell, it was out of kindness and knowing the struggles of this apocalyptic world. But, the feeling in his gut stated otherwise. He hated how off everything felt, despite it all being just so normal. Maybe it was from how they've been treated anytime they ran into other humans._ _ _ _

____The library was a small building, books stacked high on tables. There was a small section dedicated to the kids, but other than that, it was mostly just different genres of books._ _ _ _

____"Oh man, I've been wanting to read these books since... Well, before containment." Cookie laughed as she pushed some books aside to grab one and lifted it up.  
"Skeleton Creek? Sounds weird," Kaleb exclaimed, looking over the book she had.  
"Oh it's weird, alright. Let's go find a place to sit and I can read it to you!" With that, they two disappeared within the building, leaving behind the other half of their group. JD shook his head at how overly excited they got, then turned to find the wendigo sitting against a table and staring around with a bored expression._ _ _ _

____"Not a book fan?" The devil asked, holding up one with a rather plain cover.  
"Nah, you already know my type," Wes replied, flashing a wide grin before laughing at his words.  
"Gross. Find a better hobby than jacking it to cartoon tits."  
"You don't know what you're missing. Anyways, this place is boring. Wanna go see the rest of the town?"_ _ _ _

____There was a pause in their conversation as JD thought it over. He'd rather not separate the group, but after a single glance to where the other half was, he found them laying in a window, Kaleb heavily invested in the book Cookie had found and started reading to him. They'd probably be there for awhile, that was evident, so he shrugged and nodded._ _ _ _

____"Those dumbasses probably won't move for awhile, so I'm game." He answered while turning on his heels and started heading for the door._ _ _ _

____Both men left the building, which seemed to be quite dark as they had to shield their eyes for a moment to get used to the brightness outside. It was still the afternoon, though by the sun's position in the sky, night time was soon to come._ _ _ _

____As they walked around, the two fell into a discussion over what they'd do when they returned home. They had barely scratched the surface with progress on rebuilding, which JD didn't want to break away from, but he wanted to try and help Kaleb. After all, they were like a family, if he were honest. Anytime someone was in distress, the other three came to the rescue. While it was mostly comfort after Cookie's countless attempts to escape, or even Wes's sudden drops in mood and refusal to speak to anyone, the devil made sure they were all taken care of._ _ _ _

____"Ah, I never caught your names," a voice spoke up from behind, startling the two. Both males turned around quickly, finding Keiran standing there with a relaxed smile.  
"Wes... That's JD." The wendigo muttered, a little set off by the sudden appearance from the man in front of them.  
"JD and Wes... Odd names. Would you care if I joined you guys? I could show you some of the better places around here." The offer was innocent, even though he had already toured them around the more popular locations. But, the two reluctantly agreed and were led off elsewhere among the town._ _ _ _

____"And then in the video, they get trapped in the hidden room. Sarah tells the story and boom. It cuts off," Cookie explained the book, holding a hand on top of the werewolf's head, fingers twirling through his hair.  
"That shit's so wild. How do you manage to get trapped so easily? It was a danger waiting to happen." He muttered, face squished to her chest with his arms secured around her waist. "I'd never get trapped so easily."  
"I'll bet. You, JD, and Wes are all too smart to be caught like that." She grinned, placing the book down and sitting up from the wall she was leaning on. He followed suit, then turned back and glanced around the room to find their other half gone.  
"Did you see them leave?" He asked, a little worried as they both stood up.  
"I did not... Those idiots! If they're finding cool stuff without us, I'm beating their asses." The moon deity scoffed, then hurried out the door with Kaleb right behind her._ _ _ _

____They looked outside, seeing how dark it was becoming. It came as a surprise to see how long they spent inside the building._ _ _ _

____"I blame you. They probably left hours ago," the werewolf deadpanned, nudging into her.  
"Oh, really? You're the one who threw his weight on me just to hear me talk about a book I read in middle school." She exclaimed in defense, to which he made a huffing sound and shook his head.  
"Sure, we all have our excuses. Let's just find those t–"_ _ _ _

____"Hey, you guys!" Keiran called out, laughing as he jogged up as if he had been waiting for them to leave. At his sudden appearance, Kaleb instinctively grabbed the moon deity's hand, gently tugging her to his side as if he were trying to protect her from some non-existent threat. His actions didn't go unnoticed as Cookie placed a hand over his while Keiran spared a quick glance to his hold on her, then glanced back up with a smile. "Since you guys are staying, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping for tonight."_ _ _ _

____There was a hostility lingering in the air, soon vanishing as the woman nodded with a smile, squeezing the other's hand to silently tell him it would be alright. Keiran returned her kind smile, then started walking along the sidewalk, waving for them to follow._ _ _ _

____"Be kind, please. They offered us somewhere to stay, at least." She muttered quietly, glancing up at the werewolf.  
"Yeah... The others are probably waiting for us. But something feels off," he replied, his stare burning into the man's back as he tried settling down his suspicions.  
"I know, so I'm keeping my guard up... He doesn't give me a chance to see if he's hiding anything..." She sighed, then leaned into Kaleb while squeezing his hand._ _ _ _

____After their walk, Keiran gestured to a small house, looking much like a copy of the others within the area._ _ _ _

____"There's working utilities, so you guys can be assured a comfortable stay." He explained in short, then dismissed himself to go see if there were any others in need of assistance throughout the small area they blocked off and called a town._ _ _ _

____Kaleb had been the one to open the door, rather aggressively before stepping inside and looking around. While it was a nice place, he could feel his stomach drop when he realized that no one was inside, waiting for them. No JD commenting about 'how fucking long' it took them to leave the library, nor Wes with the relaxed smile and talk about how comfortable the place was._ _ _ _

____"You stay here, alright? I'm gonna go find those two," he muttered, releasing the grip he had on her hand.  
"Wait, shouldn't we go together? It'd be easier." Cookie replied as he already started walking off.  
"No, it'll be fine. I'm just gonna sniff 'em out, then after I find them, I'll be comin' back." He told her, then stopped to look back at her, finding that pouting look of worry. "I'll come back, okay? It shouldn't take long."_ _ _ _

____A long pause fell over the two as they stood there. In the end, she let out a quiet sigh, nodding to let him know she would be alright with him leaving. Of course, it wouldn't be long as the area wasn't all too big. There were a few prominent buildings, but it seemed more like reconstructed houses rather than buildings such as a library and such. That was something she noticed at first glance._ _ _ _

____He took off, heading down the path they took when they arrived to this house. It was set off near a dead end road, which seemed a bit off in itself as to why they were distanced from others. Then again, they were just staying overnight to avoid walking back to the city during the night time._ _ _ _

____Standing there for a few moments longer, Cookie gave a more dramatic, louder sigh and went into the house before quietly shutting the door. She flipped the lights on, finding the living room to be all nicely furnished as if there were no apocalypse happening. Though, try as she might, there was a rather distinct smell that was easily pointed out among the heavy storm of air fresheners that almost seemed suffocating. A smell of blood, that probably was in an attempt, albeit poorly, cleaned up. More than likely infected that used to swarm. Or, if she really wanted to play a funny joke on the three, it could've been a murder taken place within the house._ _ _ _

____"Murder among your people... Doesn't sound too far fetched." She laughed tiredly at her planned joke, then shuffled around the place before finding only one bedroom. "Hm..."_ _ _ _

____The room itself wasn't decorated, only having a lamp on a nightstand next to a bed in the middle of the room. But, that faint hint of blood seemed more prominent within._ _ _ _

____"Maybe I'm just imagining it..." She huffed, walking over to the bed and tossing the blankets aside before climbing in. The feeling of loneliness was evident as she laid there for sometime, wondering where Kaleb was and if he got lost. No, that couldn't happen. All he had to do was shift into his wolf form and track her down like usual._ _ _ _

____It didn't feel right laying in the bed all by herself. Usually, she had someone weighing over her, providing that sense of peace that she didn't have to sleep alone anymore. Years of being separated by a wall of glass always had a cold feeling to it, even with the werewolf's bed pressed up to the wall closest to her. Those years were behind them now, and had been for a few months. She didn't even realize how easy it had been to adjust from sleeping alone to sleeping with at least one other person, if not all three. But now that those three were gone, she laid there in an utter silence that felt overwhelming and too difficult to sleep in._ _ _ _

____Where were they? By now, it had to have been around an hour. Her tour of the house didn't take much time, so she spent the rest of it laying in that bed that made her imagine the wildest of things. It had to have been due to being in a new environment that made her so paranoid. She didn't feel this way when she sat with Kaleb in the window while rambling on about a book for him._ _ _ _

____Climbing out of bed, Cookie stood up and stretched her arms out before walking out of the room, going into the living room. Just like the bedroom, it was barely decorated, only having a couch with a coffee table and a lamp next to it._ _ _ _

____She practically fell into the sofa, letting out an impatient groan before digging her hands into her pockets and removing the knives she carried. A few were dulling out from constant use against the infected, which she started to sharpen up by running the blades over each other. It was a tedious process, but it occupied her for the while as she waited for their arrival, hoping to hear them all laughing before opening the door._ _ _ _

____Unfortunately, it never came._ _ _ _

____Hours kept ticking by, rather slowly. It was later into the night and still no sign of the boys._ _ _ _

____She couldn't stop yawning, now laying back in bed after finishing the task with her knives, but yet anytime her eyes fell shut for a few moments, they'd snap back open and leave her more exhausted than before._ _ _ _

____There was no use in getting up anymore, as she explored the small house a multitude of times already and was met with the same results. Just a plain, boring house that had no significance to it. There was that urge to leave in search of the three herself, but there was the possibility that it would only further separate them if they came back and found no sign of her._ _ _ _

____Hours going by, she still couldn't sleep as the anxiety crept in of not knowing where the three were. Morning's light peeked in through the curtains as she covered her head with all the pillows, desperate to get some kind of sleep. It's been years since she last had to pull all-nighters like this, given that it was for far too different reasons. But rather than being rewarded with a nice, long nap, she was only met with more restlessness when she realized they probably wouldn't be coming back. It was one thing to lose track of time if they were having fun, but JD usually stayed on top of everything, making sure everyone was aware of each other's whereabouts, or if they were separated, he'd make sure they came back within a few hours, just to reassure the others that everything was fine._ _ _ _

____And yet, in that house at the end of the street, it only laid silent as she kept her eyes shut, wanting more than just the near hour of sleep she got throughout the night._ _ _ _

____The birds chirping their morning tunes only furthered her difficulty to sleep, which eventually made her climb out of bed. For one thing, she felt rather grumpy at her night, and another thing was how undeniably hungry she had gotten._ _ _ _

____"I hope the garden back home is doing alright," she muttered quietly to herself, walking out of the room and to the front door. Her hand rested on the doorknob, hesitant to open it for a moment. Everything in her hoped that once she did open it, she'd find the trio approaching the house with smiles on their faces—something that would tell her they were alright._ _ _ _

____But alas, the door swung open and she was disappointed, but not surprised. No one stood around, there were a few citizens roaming the streets already, yet none were her boys._ _ _ _

____It made her stomp her feet a few times, impatient that they hadn't returned. If she stayed another minute in that house, it felt like she'd lose her mind. So, she stepped outside, rubbing her eyes, and headed out in search of the missing boys that left her up all throughout the night._ _ _ _

____As she walked, Cookie kept her head low, hands buried in her pockets to fumble with the knives she previously sharpened hours prior. Though, her walk was short-lived as she heard two voices coming down the path. They sounded rather friendly, but her instincts told her to hide in the nearby alley._ _ _ _

____"Did you hear? I heard Keiran saved a girl from some monsters. Y'know the ones that are being posted around to be hunted?" A boy rambled on as they started walking closer.  
"I think one of them was human looking until they saw him last night. He looked so... Disgusting. Almost like that one from the arena fight."_ _ _ _

____Arena fight?_ _ _ _

____She wanted to ask, but to uncover herself wasn't the right move to make; they'd figure out she was eavesdropping quickly. So, the trashcans provided her hideout as they continued to talk about the three._ _ _ _

____"I hope they show more fight than the one we've been seeing. Sure, he's entertaining but always crying," the girl scoffed, which made the other laugh.  
"It's always a wonder when he'll give up already and let em devour him, right?" He laughed as they passed by the alley without any idea that Cookie was sitting there, listening in with a panicked expression.  
"That's the truth. So, Keiran said there's gonna be another arena fight tonight, and he might even put the dog up against one of the new things he found."_ _ _ _

____Their voices started to fade out as they walked along. The moon deity stumbled out of the alley and looked both ways, finding the two turning a corner to the houses._ _ _ _

____She followed behind, trying not to seem too suspicious as she kept her distance from them, which lead her back into the small neighborhood. It was a pain, they kept stopping which led her to jump behind the nearest tree or between some houses. But, the two promised to meet up that night to go watch the fight and with that, the boy left the girl at her doorstep. She seemed to have a lovestruck smile as she laughed to herself and walked inside the house, unaware that they had someone following behind._ _ _ _

____The girl walked through her house and to her room, immediately heading to her closet to dig out her nicest outfit. Her smile hadn't faded, but that relaxed posture turned tense the moment she felt something press up against her throat._ _ _ _

____"Move and you're dead. Call for help, scream or make any sound that isn't an answer to my questions and you're dead." Cookie stated, standing behind the other with her knife held up to the girl's throat. "If you understand, nod your fucking head."_ _ _ _

____The happiness turned to terror quickly as she nodded and swallowed hard._ _ _ _

____"Glad to have your cooperation. Now then... What the fuck is this arena fight?" She asked, shifting and placing a hand on the girl's shoulder with a tight grip.  
"W-We... We found this.... Keiran found this dog human thing... L-Like the ones that a-are being hunted down. There's an arena somewhere where we watch him go against the infected."  
"Uh huh... How do I get there?"  
"I... Can't exactly tell you." The answer she gave didn't help, as the grip became painful while the knife started to dig further, breaking the skin under it._ _ _ _

____"I'm not here for your bullshit lies. Where the fuck is it?"  
"I-I don't know! M-My friend knows where the map is. Som-Somewhere in the library, I know that. Please don't hurt me..." Tears welled up in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks as she started to shake uncontrollably.  
"You're under such a safety net in this town, you wouldn't survive a fucking minute out there." Cookie quickly removed her knife, closing it and shoving it into her pocket. "Now listen and listen good. You're not to leave this house. Better cancel whatever plans you made or you can say goodbye to you're little boyfriend. And if you tell anyone of our interaction? I'll make sure you never see the light of day. Got it, sweetie?"_ _ _ _

____Another nod of confirmation gave her the satisfaction she needed and with that, the moon deity walked over to the window she came through before jumping out and taking off down the street._ _ _ _

____"Library, huh?" She muttered, coming to a stop once she reached the main street and found many more citizens casually walking. It was almost startling to see them, but she continued her journey at a leisurely pace despite also trying to hurry. If the boys were deemed monsters, there would be no telling what these people were up to or even capable of._ _ _ _

____The building looked the same as the day before, standing tall with random faces going in and out of the place. Standing on the other side of the street, Cookie let out a yawn, rubbing her eyes before walking across and going inside as any other person had been doing._ _ _ _

____Everything looked the same as the day before, she could even see the book she was talking to Kaleb about in the same spot she left it. It felt weird to be there, to stand around with all these strangers. She felt out of place without the rest of her group, but yet people still casually greeted and waved to her as she walked along to dig around and find out where this supposed map was. It took most of her focus to look, but there was some part of her that thought about if the girl would really stay back and avoid the unnecessary trouble or if she'd go tell someone about their encounter._ _ _ _

____Not like she'd be able to point out who was threatening her, but there was still the chance of putting two and two together._ _ _ _

____"Kids who bring in unwanted trouble shouldn't be looking for more," she sighed, fingers roaming the spines of every book and pushing them from one side to the other. The process continued down the line of books and to the next until her hand bumped into one with papers sticking out a bit. It didn't look like the pages as it was closer to the spine; which read as an almanac of sorts. Probably to keep people from actively searching it._ _ _ _

____But why would it be such a secret?_ _ _ _

____Cookie pulled the book out, then hummed quietly before pressing her back into the shelf and opening it. A few pages flipped, but it easily opened to where a paper bookmarked it, folded up a few times. She removed it from where it was nestled in, slowly opening it enough to see a map of the town, followed by a trail leading outside the walls on the opposite side of where they came in._ _ _ _

____"Interesting... Well, better hold onto this." She let out a quiet sigh, then looked up to see if anyone was watching. As she did, her hand folded the note back up before slipping it under her shirt and closing the book. Once she placed it back where she found it, the deity walked out of the library with ease, then started heading off towards the other side of the town._ _ _ _

____The further along she walked, the less people she saw. There were quite an amount of trees lining up around the area. Once she reached the wall, she started to climb up one of the trees and looked over to see the other side of the wall._ _ _ _

____"Hm..." Humming quietly, Cookie took out the paper and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned over the trail, then looked back to the other side to find a path worn out into the ground. "There we go."_ _ _ _

____Shoving the paper back where she had it, she jumped over and landed on the ground, outside the town. She stood up and glanced back, then started walking along the trail._ _ _ _

____There were small signs that pointed people in the right direction, probably to steer them on the right track, but for some reason, she felt like if she walked to where everyone else headed, it wouldn't do her any good. Rather, if she wanted to figure out what was happening, it might work better to steer off. And, just as she was starting to wonder about it, she came to a stop when she noticed a side to the path, barely even noticable to anyone just casually strolling._ _ _ _

____"Found you..."_ _ _ _

____Without anyone coming along the trail, she started walking off and into more grassy lands. It was a nice walk, the grass reaching up past her ankles, but she soon came to a stop when she noticed the group going up a hill for a good distance and finding the entrance to a rather large burrow in the side._ _ _ _

____Another glance was sent around the area to make sure no one had been following her before she walked over to the entrance and looked inside, finding a rather long tunnel. She stepped inside, then started going down the left side with a gut feeling that she'd probably find something. It seemed rather worrying, though. If it wasn't something good, she might have a hard time getting out of the place with how exhausted she felt._ _ _ _

____But, at the end of the long awaited tunnel, there stood a steel door with a window that had iron bars in it._ _ _ _

____Her caution wasn't too far off, but the startling sounds that came from behind the door had her confused for a good while._ _ _ _

____Howling._ _ _ _

____It was howling._ _ _ _

____"Kaleb..?" She muttered, then shook her head. It didn't sound like him, as he had a different tone. But it was howling nonetheless, so, she shook her head and rubbed away the tiredness from her eyes, then ran towards the door and took a leap, grasping onto the iron bars._ _ _ _

____"Get away from me!"  
"Hey, hold on!" Lifting herself up to peek through the gaps of the bars, her eyes widened upon seeing inside the room, was the boy they had spent weeks searching for. He was curled into a ball on the opposite side of the room from her, trembling like a leaf in the wind._ _ _ _

____"Hey... Are you Dylan?" At her question, he flinched when she addressed him before looking up at her.  
"How do you know that? Who are you?" He asked, voice shaking as he spoke but refusing to move.  
"Keep your voice low... Let me do something real quick." She muttered, then gripped the bars firmly._ _ _ _

____From his seat in the room, Dylan watched as she tried to pull the bars apart. Seeing her efforts made him feelt guilt, remembering when he first arrived, how he tried to do the same thing. He couldn't tell how long it had been since he's been made an object for other's amusement, and everyday, he had a difficult time trying to tell if it would be his last. They hardly ever fed him, he still sustained injuries from days, almost weeks ago. It didn't help he was never really strong in the first place._ _ _ _

____"Just give up. They won't bu–"  
"You're Kaleb's brother, right?" Her voice was closer, and he felt terrified as he looked up and saw her standing there.  
"How the hell did you do that?" He asked, taking sharp breaths that seemed to make his chest hurt.  
"Ah well I just sorta manipulated the gravity of the bars to bend. Now answer my question." She told him, kneeling down and taking off her hoodie to put on him in an attempt to make him feel better._ _ _ _

____Despite not having an idea on who she was or what she really did, he felt some odd sense of comfort immediately after she put her jacket on him. And even as he took deep breaths, there were different scents mixed together in the jacket, but there was only one that made his eyes widen._ _ _ _

____"You know my brother?" He asked in a soft voice.  
"We spend damn near everyday together. There's something up with this town, and I think they took him and a couple others." Cookie replied, just to be jumped on by the dog boy._ _ _ _

____"S-So he's alive? He's alive and you're with him a-as a friend, right?" His words seemed nearly breathless as he held onto that small shred of hope.  
"I promise you... We've spent weeks looking for you. I'm gonna get you out of here, and I'll find the others and we're gonna go home, okay, Dylan?"  
"Wh... What's you're name?" He didn't move from her arms; he didn't want to. The comfort he felt wasn't like anything before, and after countless years of being trapped, he couldn't help but relax in her grasp.  
"Cookie. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to keep you safe." She hummed, petting down his hair.  
"Thank you, Cookie..."_ _ _ _

____As they took a pause, the door opened on its own, which made the boy tense up before the shaking came back._ _ _ _

____"Please... Please, I can't do it. Please, Cookie, don't make me do it." The way his voice cracked into near sobs made her heart ache.  
"And you won't. C'mon, I know a way out."_ _ _ _

____Standing up, the moon deity pulled him up and grasped his hands before dragging him out of the room. They ran down the tunnel together, and she could see a gate coming out of the wall, nearly closing off their path down and to where she came in from._ _ _ _

____She didn't know what it was that he was scared over, but as the gate was almost closed, she lifted the boy up into her arms before planting her feet into the ground. It took all her strength to throw him, but he managed to get to the other side of the gate just in time for it to close._ _ _ _

____Dylan's fall didn't hurt as much as he expected. Hell, everything about her throw made it seem easy on him. But, as he recovered, he felt his hopes falter when he saw her standing where he was suppose to. For so long, he always wondered what lay on the other side of the gate, or if it even opened. But now that he sat there, he could feel a wave of nausea coming on. She was going to get killed, and if they found him, it would probably be a worse fate for him._ _ _ _

____"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"  
"Dylan, calm down. Listen to me, okay?" Cookie pulled him out of those cruel thoughts with little to no effort. How?  
"You're gonna get hurt, it's all my fault."  
"I won't let that happen, now fucking listen to me!" He flinched when her voice raised, but she took a deep breath and smiled, now speaking in a softer tone. "I'm gonna take your place for now. Stay cautious, and try to find your brother for me, okay? The pockets have knives if you need to defend yourself and here. Take this and don't worry about me. When you find Kaleb, you can tell him everything."_ _ _ _

____Pulling a paper from her shirt again, she shoved it between one of the gaps in the gate. He fumbled to grab it, wanting to say more, but she was already starting to walk off. There had been another tunnel in the side, so she figured that must've been where Dylan was supposed to go. With the information she had gotten so easily from the girl, it seemed like they were putting the poor boy up against the infected. Wrangling them in and letting nature try to take its course. There was no telling how long he had been trapped there, but she was ready to see the look on Kaleb's face when he finally got reunited with his brother._ _ _ _

____She'd do anything to make sure it happened._ _ _ _

____There was a light peering out as she neared what she would've guessed was the arena to this sick and twisted game. It looked like a battle arena, so she steadied her breathing and ran in to face whatever they wanted him to do._ _ _ _

____A sight that had been so familiar to the townspeople was turned around in the moment she stepped foot into the light. The excited cheering turned into a stunned silence before whispers started among the crowd. No one was really quiet about it, confused with many questions. Where was the usual competitor? Why was a human girl standing there? And wasn't she the one who had just been rescued the day before? Nothing seemed to add up, but the silence came back as another gate in the area opened, letting a few infected pile out and head for the girl._ _ _ _

____"Hey, stop the fight!"  
"That's a human, she needs help!"  
"Where did the dog go?"_ _ _ _

____Cookie tuned out the yelling as the infected staggered closer to her; the gate behind falling shut. The latches on her holsters were unclipped and she pulled out two knives, stabbing them into the back of the neck on the first one that got close to her. She twisted them, shoving aside the body before ducking out of the way of another. Her foot raised up and landed down on top of the infected's head, smashing it into the ground before looking at the third. She took the two knives into one hand and threw them, blades landing into the eyes of the undead being, watching it fall to the ground after the other two._ _ _ _

____"You guys are sick fucking cowards," she shouted, walking to the body to retrieve her knives. "Look at you, sitting up there in the stands. You seemed to find it amusing to watch a poor innocent thing fighting the infected, but when someone that looks human comes along, suddenly it's a problem?"_ _ _ _

____"Well, it's not a problem for me. So come on, bring on the others. I know three isn't that much and a weak show, so do it!"_ _ _ _

____At her words, conversations broke out among the townspeople. Not long after, more of the undead started shuffling out of the other entrances into the arena. While she didn't have a higher kill count like the other three, she knew it wouldn't be that hard to keep the battle going. Hell, if she kept their attention for long, Dylan could probably find the three and even have the time to get them out. Wouldn't that be nice?_ _ _ _

____But as she kept on fighting, she heard whimpering and a struggle coming from the tunnel she had walked through._ _ _ _

____The gate opened again and another body was tossed in with aggression._ _ _ _

____And once she looked back, the sense of reason that kept her stable suddenly disappeared. Because laying on the ground was Dylan, cuts littering his face along with a gash in his cheek. There were tears in his eyes as he sat up, noticing the dead body he landed by and letting out a helpless yelp as he tried to escape._ _ _ _

____Whatever infected were in the arena had been wiped out with ease before Cookie knelt in front of the boy, pulling him into her arms. He let out a broken, quiet sob and held onto her for dear life, as if letting go would lead to him getting torn apart by the undead. Though, unbeknownst to him, she'd never let anything happen to him. It took so long to find him, to keep reassuring Kaleb he was alive and that they'd find him. Those boys of hers didn't know she found him, so she felt even more determined to get them all together again._ _ _ _

____"Get on my back, it's about to turn into a bloodbath." She spoke in such a caring manner as her fingers brushed down the wild, tangled hair of his. For a moment, he didn't let go, just wishing for it to be over already. But after a moment, he nodded and released his grip before she turned around and allowed him to wrap his arms around her neck and latch on._ _ _ _

____The ease she had with carrying him felt surprising to him. For someone so small, she didn't seem to have a problem holding him up._ _ _ _

____At first, he had no clue what she was planning. Once she stood back up, Cookie didn't move. But, the sounds of screaming and panic brought his attention up to the metal dome that kept humans from falling in. Bolts were falling out, and the metal was bending down, getting closer to them._ _ _ _

____As it came down into reach, the moon deity grabbed on and started pulling them out, climbing the metal until she reached above the ground that everyone had been previously sitting at. For the first time, Dylan wasn't looking at this from a lower perspective and it seemed to surprise him. Glancing back, he wondered why they enjoyed watching from above; watching someone else fight for their life. It made him feel sick to his stomach, turning back around to bury his head into her neck._ _ _ _

____But, as she got on stable footing, she narrowly missed a man swinging a rather large tree branch at them in an attempt to fight back._ _ _ _

____"Seems like the neighbors aren't as friendly as they appear to be." Cookie joked, then grabbed the man by the wrist and placing her other hand on his back. She pivoted on one foot, shoving him into the pit as more infected started to come out of the other tunnels. Screams pierced the air, Dylan keeping his face hidden to avoid looking back. He knew exactly what was happening, and if he watched for even a second, the guilt in him would have him attempting to save someone who wouldn't spare him another glance._ _ _ _

____The apocalypse was a cruel thing._ _ _ _

____"It's okay, Dylan. We're gonna head to the town and have a word on where the fuck they took the others." She spoke up, holding his legs up then started walking towards the trail that led back to the town that had been laying in a false sense of safety. There were still people running, fleeing as she walked with such calmness, it would've made him nervous if he hadn't confirmed she wouldn't hurt him._ _ _ _

____Cookie reached the wall she had previously jumped over earlier that morning, then let out a yawn as the structure started to collapse in on itself._ _ _ _

____"So tired..." She grunted, stepping over the crushed debris and entering the town's area once again._ _ _ _

____As they got back to where most all the people were, there in the streets stood Keiran by himself. He looked rather displeased as he watched the destruction that woke in her path._ _ _ _

____"Stay here, I don't wanna risk you getting hurt." She mumbled. The moon deity took caution when setting him down, turning to check and make sure he'd be alright. After a quiet confirmation that he was fine, she turned back and started walking towards the man who everyone believed to be their hero._ _ _ _

____"And to think, I thought you were human." He commented as she cautiously drew near, noticing to way he had a hand hiding behind his back.  
"No small talk. I wanna know where they're at." She demanded. As she spoke, the deity pulled out a knife to show she wasn't defenseless._ _ _ _

____But, at her move, the man revealed the gun he had hidden behind his back._ _ _ _

____"Cookie–!" Dylan took a sharp breath in when he noticed her tensing up at the sight of the firearm. It was pointed directly at her, and he found himself unable to move. He felt terrified at the idea that he was the cause of this._ _ _ _

____"Move, and I'll pull the trigger, you mutt." Keiran deadpanned, then placed his finger over it to show he wasn't bluffing.  
"Do it." Cookie stated, allowing the knife to slip from her grip and clink to the ground, her hands raising up in surrender.  
"What?" Her request caught him off guard, taking a few steps back to give himself some room.  
"I said do it. Pull the trigger." She could see the way his hand trembled in the slightest, showing his hesitation to follow through with the threat._ _ _ _

____"C'mon, Keiran. Your town is watching you, a hero and leader for them all. I'm giving you the best target you'll ever have because I doubt any of you would go outside the safety of your home here to face real life threatening challenges. But, then again, you guys _did _kidnap someone who was trying to survive himself, forcing him to entertain you all by placing him against infected. I do wonder how you managed to round them up since everyone I've met are mere cowards. So c'mon, show them you're a real hero and take the fucking shot. You can't hurt me in a way I haven't been hurt before."___ _ _ _

______The more she spoke on, the closer to him she got. His resolve was never strong to begin with, but he needed to do something to prove he was still capable of leading. Everything was crumbling around them, and would continue to do so unless he took out the threat just a few feet in front of him._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Take the shot."_ _ _ _ _ _

______The sound of the gun firing resonated through the air. Anyone who had been around to see if happen fell stiff at what they witnessed._ _ _ _ _ _

______Dylan could feel his body trembling, arms pulling up to hug himself as his eyes shut tight in an attempt to ease his mind. If he didn't look, it wasn't real. This stranger that knew his brother and rescued him wouldn't be dead._ _ _ _ _ _

______Metal clinked on the asphalt ground they stood on, managing to force his eyes opened to find out what happened. Though she was quite a distance from him, the dog man could feel his eyes widen in the slightest when he saw between her feet was a bullet. One that was supposed to be lodged into her chest as the gun's crosshairs aimed to where her heart was._ _ _ _ _ _

______On the other side of the woman, Keiran's grip on his gun seemed to falter, eyes widened in horror when he saw the shot he took fall to the ground. Despite all the things going on outside the walls of the town everyone worked so hard to create, the thing that seemed to scare him the most had to have been this strange person he took in, thinking she was being held hostage by those creatures he managed to capture. Now that he took out what he thought was a threat, proved to be a failure when he realized she was just as threatening, if not more, than those three. And now, with the way she looked at him, he could only hope his backup hurried soon._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I'm glad you made that choice," she sighed out, "now I won't feel as bad."_ _ _ _ _ _

______The way she moved was messy, albeit quick and aimed. She made a run towards him, only stopping with a final, large step once she was close enough. He barely had time to realize what was happening, throwing his arms up in time before her foot collided with what was meant to be the side of his head._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Nice on ya to block that one!" She exclaimed with a delirious laugh, catching her stance as he moved back to give him time to cock his gun. "Try and do it again!"_ _ _ _ _ _

______With her next move more obvious, it allowed Keiran to prepare for her attack. Coming from the other side, she repeated her kick which seemed to land harder than the last. A sharp pain shot through his forearm before he lifted his firearm up and shot again, this time without any hesitations. The bullet was shot blindly in an attempt to catch her off guard, but only managed to hit into the knife she had pulled out, sending the blade to the ground._ _ _ _ _ _

______Back and forth, it was mostly a battle of endurance. With the lack of sleep, the moon deity's movements were quite sloppy and predicable. In turn, the supposed town leader wasn't much of a real fighter himself, resorting to the help of his firearm to try and take her down. Though, he didn't have to hold off much longer._ _ _ _ _ _

______"C-Cookie–!" Dylan yelled out._ _ _ _ _ _

______Turning around, the scene that played out in front of her was enough to wake her from the exhausted state of mind she was fighting in. It was more than enough._ _ _ _ _ _

______As she was trying to keep herself from collapsing, a couple of men were armed and surrounding the poor boy. He was pushed into the ground, arms bent harshly behind his back. The man holding him seemed to pay no mind to the way he thrashed and cried out in pain, a second man loading his gun to take aim at Dylan's head._ _ _ _ _ _

______"You can give up now and spare his life, or we'll kill the both of y–" Keiran began his negotiation as he wiped his mouth from the blood coming from his busted lip. However, while he tried to finish talking, Cookie had already taken action._ _ _ _ _ _

______Her hand dug into the holsters on her thighs removing two of the larger knives she carried before flinging them towards the duo that were hurting the dog boy. The blades hit them with accuracy, lodging into their skulls and immediately sending them collapsing to the ground. She didn't give any wasted time to the man after confirming the two wouldn't be getting up again, instead spinning around with a closed fist and sending it into the leader's jaw._ _ _ _ _ _

______Just like the two men he called for backup, Keiran crashed into the asphalt, letting out a small grunt of pain. But, before he could try to recover, the man felt himself land harshly into something else before opening his eyes and realizing he was on a rooftop. He couldn't explain how he felt at the moment, still attempting to process everything even as he heard someone land next to him before feeling a hand bury itself into his hair and tug him up._ _ _ _ _ _

______"You've seemed to underestimate just how dangerous a stranger can be." Cookie deadpanned, holding him up to look at the town from the perspective she held him at. "You shouldn't really test someone's resolve to kill. Because in a world like this, even the weak are being forced to kill. Of course, you'd know that."_ _ _ _ _ _

______As she spoke, he watched the buildings and structures collapse, shaking the ground, even sending the remaining people in the town running in all directions. The moment he tried to shut his eyes and shield himself from the view, she used her free hand to pry them open, leaning down in the slightest to watch alongside him as fires began to break out, furthering the damage being caused by her._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I'll tear this town to the ground, I'll kill each and every one of these people all because you couldn't show the slightest mercy to someone different than you. And after they're all dead, I'll finally kill you."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Dylan watched as chaos unfolded all around him, feeling an odd sense of dread. He didn't want anyone to die, he just wanted to be free. Of course, in a world where people are driven by fear, it causes them to act irrationally, but was this her fear? It just didn't seem to make any sense; then again, nothing about the woman did._ _ _ _ _ _

______"C-Cookie, please! Stop!" He yelled out, looking up at where she stood and watched as that stone cold expression changed. She seemed to have snapped out of it, everything relaxing the moment she caught sight of him again. But, just to make sure she had gotten her point across, the moon deity took the firearm from the man before getting them back to the ground, making sure she was roughly handling him._ _ _ _ _ _

______All the destruction came to a halt when she did look at him, which he was thankful for._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Take me to my friends, and we'll leave you alone." She stated, taking on a much more exhausted tone now that she was settling down again.  
"F... Fine." Keiran replied, then stood up before stumbling and walking off, gesturing for them to follow._ _ _ _ _ _

______Dylan reached a hand out to the woman, motioning for her to grab on. It took a moment for his gesture to process in her mind, but once it did, she grabbed his hand and soon latched onto his arm. The lack of sleep had really started to kick in, only getting worse after what he could only assume was her doing behind all the buildings falling and toppling into the ground. He didn't know what she was, but judging by how she made impossible things suddenly possible, it was definitely anything but human despite looking like she'd blend in well._ _ _ _ _ _

______They took a walk back to the arena before taking a detour onto another trail. That trail led them to a hillside, like the one Cookie found when looking for the dog boy. Her caution came back, feeling alert as she pulled the boy to slow down next to her while they followed the man before he finally brought them to a door. A door that Dylan was familiar with, spending so much time looking at one just like it with no hope that he'd ever be free from it._ _ _ _ _ _

______Looks like luck was on his side._ _ _ _ _ _

______"They're in here." Keiran explained, then opened the door before gesturing in.  
"Good. Now get the fuck outta here." The deity stated, holding an arm up for him to leave. And, at her demand, he left without another word._ _ _ _ _ _

______The two looked into the room to find the three beings that were missing. Kaleb, Wes, and JD were all sat around, looking almost as exhausted as the moon deity. But, the moment the three took notice to them, those feelings seemed to have washed away._ _ _ _ _ _

______Wes stood up first, then immediately hurried over to the girl, pulling her into his arms and hugging her tightly. He didn't say much, aside from mumbles about how relieved he was to see her again despite them being separated for only a day. It was too long for him to be comfortable, and the Jersey Devil was sure to add in how annoying he was about the situation. But, he was on the same page, though he calmly walked over to join the two and ruffled the woman's hair while explaining what exactly happened to them before realizing just how tired she looked._ _ _ _ _ _

______But, aside from them, Kaleb stared ahead in disbelief, seeing his younger brother standing there with the same amount of surprise before walking over to see him up close._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I... Dylan–" he was about to start, before the other cut him off with a tired laugh.  
"Let's uh... Save the emotions for later. I've had about enough for today, just... Tired now." The smaller of the two replied, looking over to the other three with a small smile.  
"You're right. We should probably get back home." The werewolf exclaimed._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Yeah you're fuckin' right. I'm never doing this shit again." JD seethed, already walking off while the wendigo held Cookie in his arms. She was fast asleep by now, curling up under the hoodie he was previously wearing before dressing her in it so she could feel comfort._ _ _ _ _ _

______"So... Home, huh?" Dylan spoke up as they walked down the road, everyone reunited with their weapons and belongings that were ripped away from them.  
"It's not the best, I'll admit. But, it's something we found and are working on rebuilding so we can find others like us." Kaleb replied, holding a hand to the back of his neck.  
"What do you mean by that?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"He means anyone who got trapped in those shitty containment places. Apparently, there are a lot of us because they have more than one of those buildings set up. To keep us... I guess, shielded from the humans.... Well, until the outbreak happened." Wes explained in a soft voice to avoid disturbing Cookie's sleep.  
"That reminds me, what is she?" The dog boy asked, gesturing to the woman.  
"Something relating to the moon. We didn't get to learn much aside from that, so we all just think she's some sorta moon goddess." Kaleb explained, laughing quietly to himself. "Did she freak ya out?"  
"Just... A little. But, she made me feel safe," he mumbled in response, messing with the hem of the jacket she had put on him earlier that day. "I'm just happy she found me."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"To be honest, I think we all feel that way." The werewolf glanced towards Wes's arms, happy to see the woman looking so peaceful. Weeks were spent in search of Dylan, and despite how upset it had made him, he was glad. Thankful that she never gave up even when he was ready to. The time she had spent, comforting his ass until he could stand again was something he was lucky to have in a world as horrible as this._ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> anyways it's been a minute hUh?? time to take a break from the zombie au and probably,,,, focus on a school au!! so that's gonna be fun!!
> 
> also I gave up on proofreading after a certain point because this took way too long


End file.
